Ore-separator.



A. M. PLUME.

CRB SEPARATOR.

APPLIQATION FILED JULY 17,1912.

1,079,362, Patented Nov. 25, '1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET A.. M. PLUME.

ORE SEPARTOR. v

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1912.

4 Patented NOV. 25,1913.

2 Simms-SHEET `2,

Fig'. 2.

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AlbertMPlumb. fr@

prnrnn strata OFFXC* ALBERT IVI. PLUMB, OF PLATTEVILLE, WISCONSIN.

refresca.

To all whom. 't may concern.'

Bc it known that l, ALBERT M. Penne, a citizen of the United States, residing at ."latteville, `Wisconsin, have invented a ce1'- a tain neuv and useful Ore-Separator, of Which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

invention relates to apparatus for separating' materials of diii'erent specific gravitics is particularly applicable to ore concentration.

lt is known that When comminuted material is subjected to intermittent impulses of air or like fluid tending` to impart an up and down motion to the. particles, those particles heavier particles of the tailings and the lighter ore particles. This :tact'makes it necessary to treat'portions of the material twice or more to secure the desired complete separation.

lt is a particular object ot my invention to provide a simple, efficient apparatus which vwill eiiect the'complete separation of all the concentrates from the tailings in one treatment.

@ther objects and advantages of my in- `sentient will appear from the following de` ription taken in connection 'with the drawgs which illustrate one embodiment recit.

l? gure 1 is a. view ot the apparatus taken along' the line 1J-fa" Aof Fig. il, which is aseotionai view; Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a y portion et the separating or concentrating ch mber ot the machine. Figo@ is a side elcvationorn the pressure distributing nozzle. The separating chamber is formed by side and end walls 1,- and an ore supporting s reen 2, it being understood., of course, that this screen or support may be constructed in .Specification of Letters Patent.

having the greatest specific gravity Will tend j onnnsnrana'ron.

ratenteanov. a5, reis. 'Application filed July 17, 1912. Serial No. 709,847. f l i'. if

any suitable way, of any desired material-,for

the purpose hereinafterset forth. Beneath this screen is an air chamber 3, andsuitably y attached to the Walls of thisvchamber, are.I

screen supporting members 1. 5 is a second air chamber or pressure distributing nozzle l which is preferably made flat andvvith tapering side and end Walls as illustrated..

It communicates with the chamber 3 through the slot 6 which is ofvuniform Width and ex- .tends the entire length of said chamber, and, 1s also in communication with a source of air pressure (not illustrated). Thepurpose of making the nozzle of the shape shownis to secure an even distribution of the pressure.

the lower-or bearing edge is inclined. .It

will be apparent, therefore, that when the bar 'is moved in one direction, the upper edge Will'beraised and When moved in the other direction, it Will be lowered. Both discharge openings may, of course, be made adjustable if desired.y

Extending across the separating chamber and to a point near the bottom thereof is a battle or partition 10, and located preferably at right angles to this partition and immediately above the screen are spaced retaining and guide plates 11. ,l

12 is a hopper for the material to be treated and this hopper is provided f with a suitable number of discharge openings 13, adjustable by means of Yates 14,- controlled by suitable means, such ttt the threaded rods 15 and nuts 16.

The number, shapeand arrangement of the discharge openings, balles and guide plates may, of course, be modiiied and still preserve the principle of operation of the apparatus, it being understoodrthat l have attempted 'to illustrate only the arrangement of parts Whichnow appears to be the simplest and most eiiicient. The guide plates l1 are not essential to the operation ofthe machne'but do serve to facilitate the move-- ment of the ore particles in the desired direction an@ io keep the screen level.

The operation of the apparatus A1s as foltween the partitionv I10 and the discharge opening 8 and intermittent impulses of air 'i I 5 7are supplied through the air chambers, 1m-

parting an up and down or jigging motion to the particles. As aresult of this action, the ore particles, which have a'greater specie gravity than the particles of the tailings, will' gradually displaceth latter particles, forcing them upward with the result that immediately above the screen, a layer of material will be formed consisting onlyof ore particles or concentrates and at the to-p of the bed of materiala layer will be formed consisting` only of tailings. Between these two.

layers',vv there will be-a mixture consisting of particles of tailings and of ore particles. lf no-w, additional material is supplied to the concentrating chamber, the ore particles in this material will find their way downward lwith the result that other ore particles will be forced under the partition 10, thus rais.

ing the surfaceo'f the concentrate column and causing concentrates to be discharged at opening 7. rlhe added tailings rwill also cause the upper surface of the tailings stratum to risehigh enough to overfiow at the discharge opening 8. It will be understood that when the concentrating chamber is empty, material must -be supplied to cover the entire screen in order that the air pressure will be evenly distributed, since practically all of the 'air would otherwise pass through the uncovered portion of the screenand not properly agitate the material. This requirement may be met by either supplying an initial bedv of concentrates, or, simply 'by supplying the material to be separated and returning to the hopper lsuch of the material first discharged 'at the opening 7 which contains a mixture of the concentrates and tailings.

It will be observed that in my apparatus, I maintain two or more columns of material of unequal height but of substantially the same weight per unit of cross section". These columns being supported on a level screen, the metion of the particles downward, laterally under the partition l0 and upward to the discharge opening 7, is produced by displacement and the change in relative position of the particles in the concentrating chamber is due-entirely to this action and not to inclinations of the support. .One result ofthis arrangement is that the midlings stratum is always confined between the' partition 10 and the walls of the concentratmg cham-ber and has no lateral motion,

of thischara'cterto be discharged.v Another important advantage lies in the fact that the rate of feed andthe rate of discharge are to a great extent dependent on eaehy other. It, requires addition of material to the conthus making it impossible for any material centrating chamber to produce an overl'low at the discharge openings and the point of the discharge from `the hopper can be so adjusted :that the rise ofthe surface of the tailings stratum above the normal will ytend to check the intiow of material. If the supply of material is stopped for anyreason, there willbe no discharge of either concentrates or tailings even though the jigging action continues. A still further advantage of lhaving the weight on the supporting screen uniformly distributed is that a uniform distribution of air pressure is thereby brought about and consequently all portions of the material to be 'separated are subjected to the desired action.

I am aware that many-modications in the shape, form and location of parts, and in the details of structure, may bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention and I, therefore, do not desire that its scope be limited except as pointed out in the appended claims.

llavin g fully described my invention, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:l

l. Inan ore separating apparatus, a separating chamber having a level, reticulated bottom and provided with means for main-` taining separate. columns of material communicating only at a point near the bottom of the separating chamber and with a discharge opening for each column, the lowest of said discharge openings heilig substantially higher than the highest point of communiealionl between the columns and said discharge openings being so positioned that the weight. of the columns of material, when each extends to the level of its discharge opening, will be equal per unit of cross sectional area, means for supplying material to be separated to one of said columns, and means forapplying intermittent impulses of air to the entire bottom ofthe separating chamber. A

2. An ore separator having a separating chamber provided with means for maintainl ing separate columns lof material and with discharge openings positioned to keep the weight of said columns per unit of cross sectional. area substantially equal, means for supplying material lto one of said columns, an air chamber beneath said columns, and a tapering nozzle beneath the air chamber and con'imunicating therewith by a narrow slot extending throughout the entire length of said air chamber, and means for supplying intermittent impulses of air to the aar chamber.

"S'n ore separator comprising a separating chamber, having a substantially level, reticulated bottom and discharge o enings at different levels, means for adjusting the height of one discharge opening, a partition extending across the chamber and to a point nearer the bottomthereof than to the level of the lowest discharge opening, guide plates extending .across the bottom of the separating chamber' and at right angles to the partition, an air, chamber communicating with the separatingchamber, a tapering nozzle beneath the air chamber and communicating therewith through a narrow slot extending throughout the entire length of said air chamber', and means for supplying intermittent impulses of air to .the air chamber.

4;*111 combination, an oblong separating chamber having a level, reticulated bottom,

' a partition extending across the central ortion of the chamber in the direction c its length and to a point adjacent to the bottom,means for feeding material to the chamber on one side of and at points' adjacent to the partition, said chamber being provided with a discharge-opening on 'each side of the partition, the level of the lowest of said openings being substantially above the lower edge of the partition and. the relative height of said openings being so adjusted thatv Athe weight ofthe columns of material on opposite sides of the partition will be substantially equal per unit of cross sectional area, and means for applying intermittent impulses of air to the entire bottom ofthe separating chamber.

In testimony whereof, Lhave hereunto set my hand and aflixed my sea-l in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

W. H. DYLE, IRA O. POLLER. 

